Drake women topple No. 24 Iowa State at home

Comments (...)

E-mail this story

Print this story

Comments

Share

DES MOINES (DU) — A career night from sophomore center Rachael Hackbarth propelled the Drake University women’s basketball team to a thrilling 78-75 victory over No. 24 Iowa State.

Hackbarth scored a career-high 20 points, including 13 in the second half, to lead the Bulldogs.

She hit eight of her 13 shots on the night and helped the Bulldogs to 46 percentage shooting.

The sophomore also collected a career-high five assists and tied a career-high with two steals. Sophomore Amber Wollschlager tallied 16 points and shot a perfect six-for-six from the line on the night. All of Wollschlager’s free throws came with less than three minutes remaining in the second half. Senior Jordann Plummer added 12 points and six assists.

The Bulldogs trailed 48-41 at the 15 minute mark of the second half, but a Wollschlager 3-pointer sparked an 11-2 Bulldog run highlighted by five points from Hackbarth and a 3 from Junior Kristin Turk that gave Drake a 52-50 lead.

After the game’s fifth tie at the 11-minute mark, freshman Katie Schechinger’s first career 3-pointer gave Drake a lead it would not relinquish despite a relentless Iowa State attack.

“During the first half, we had some breakdowns, some miscommunications,” Drake coach Amy Stephens said. “It was early in the game though, and we bounced back.”

The Bulldogs shot .586 from the floor in the second half compared to a .393 mark in the opening half. Drake also shot 10-of-12 from the free throw line in the second half, compared to a 5-for-8 tally in the first half.

“Our team has a lot of fight,” Stephens added. “I have a lot of confidence in us to not get rattled.”

Drake improved its record to 5-4 all-time against Iowa State in the Knapp Center.

“We’ve got great kids who incredibly smart. It’s a big win, but it’s not the end-all. There’s such a bigger picture at Drake than just beating a Big 12 team. We’re looking to play for and win championships.”

Drake improves to 2-1 on the season. Iowa State falls to 1-1 overall.

Comments